Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 23 June 2021
114. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media if she will provide a roadmap of the return of the entertainment industry particularly the indoor entertainment industry (details supplied). [33671/21]
View answerDecisions on the phasing of the easing of public health restrictions are a matter for Government, having regard of factors including public health advice. Subject to the prevailing public health situation, the Government has been delivering a phased easing of public health restrictions over the period since April this year. The Government continues to keep the situation under review with a view to continuing to reopen sectors, services and activities, including the entertainment sector. In particular, restrictions on performances at licensed venues, such as restaurants, pubs and hotels, is being reviewed at present. From 5 July, if the public health situation allows, organised indoor events can recommence, permitting a maximum of 50 attendees at the majority of venues and 100 in larger venues. Currently 100 people can attend an organised outdoor event for the majority of venues.
The Government has agreed that pilot events will take place in June and July, depending on the epidemiological situation at the time and subject to the roll out of the vaccination programme. My Department has worked with the Arts Council and a number of stakeholder engagement structures are in place to support the development and delivery of those pilot events. The first event took place in the Iveagh Gardens on the 10th of June in collaboration with the National Concert Hall and further events will take place across the course of the summer. These events will assist in safely charting a path back to greater levels of activity in line with developments in public health guidance over the coming weeks and months. Pilot events are necessary as a proof of concept for the safe management of events whilst COVID-19 is still circulating in our communities and in order to evaluate and build confidence in the COVID-19 guidance and event management protocols developed by the culture and sports sectors.
In addition, I have established a Return to Live Entertainment Working Group to facilitate stakeholder consultation and develop COVID-19 Guidelines for the Live Entertainment sector. The Group includes stakeholders from across the live entertainment sector as well and those with appropriate technical knowledge in the planning, management and delivery of events. The Group is developing a set of overarching guiding principles that all venue promoters can adopt for their specific purposes. The Live Entertainment Working Group includes stakeholders with appropriate technical knowledge in the planning, management and delivery of events and is will produce a set of overarching guiding principles which all venue promoters can adopt for their specific purposes.
In parallel with these developments, Government continues to provide a range of supports to the arts, culture and entertainment sectors. Primary support for the arts, including supports for music is delivered by the Arts Council. In 2021, the Government allocated €130m to the Arts Council which is an increase of 62% over the amount initially allocated for 2020. The Arts Council is independent in its funding decisions under the Arts Act 2003. The Arts Council's support is by way of grants under a range of categories including bursary, strategic funding, project awards and touring and dissemination awards. The Arts Council announced details of its investment plans last February and this included a range of initiatives aimed at supporting artists and arts organisation through the crisis.
I allocated €50 million to a suite of measures to assist the live performance sector. As part of that funding, I announced the allocations for the €25m Live Performance Support Scheme (LPSS 2021). I was delighted to be in a position to fund 237 successful applications under this scheme, the details of which are available on my Department’s website. These grants will help support employment and well-being opportunities across all genres and the continued production of high quality artistic output for the public.
I have also made an allocation of €14m available for the Music and Entertainment Business Assistance Scheme (MEBAS) to make a contribution to the overheads of businesses, specifically musicians and related crew, that have been significantly negatively affected by COVID-19 and that do not qualify for other business supports. Under the scheme, self-employed businesses including musicians, singers, lighting and sound crew and audio equipment suppliers operating exclusively within the commercial live entertainment sector are eligible to apply. Applications may be made via the MEBAS application portal on my Department’s website.
Earlier in the year, I announced the pilot Outdoor Public Space Scheme 2021 intended to fund local authorities to adapt, equip or otherwise improve public spaces for cultural and events activities, taking account of public health guidelines and of the needs of the local arts community. Outdoor public spaces that can provide year-round use can improve well-being and contribute positively to the public realm.
Related to this, I have also made an allocation of €5 million available to local authorities for live performances in summer 2021 to animate town centres, should public health considerations permit. This will allow for the procurement by local authorities of performances by local performers. €5 million will also be made available for a scheme of capital supports for the commercial live entertainment sector.
In addition, I recently announced a new Events Sector Covid Support Scheme which I intend to launch shortly. This scheme will target SMEs in the events sector which aren’t eligible for the CRSS and for whom MEBAS and the Small Business Assistance Scheme for COVID-19 will not make a significant contribution to fixed costs relative to the level of support that would be available under CRSS, had such SMEs been eligible for that support.
The Economic Recovery Plan also includes a commitment for Government to prioritise a Basic Income guarantee pilot scheme for artists. This was a key recommendation of the Arts and Culture Recovery Taskforce.
It is worth noting that under the Economic Recovery Plan, Government has extended the period during which a range of horizontal and business supports will be available to enterprises and workers in all sectors of the economy, including the Arts and Culture sectors. Measures include:
- Extending the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme to 31 December.
- Extending the Pandemic Unemployment Payment beyond 30 June 2021.
- Extending the Commercial Rates Waiver to end-September 2021.
- Broadening of eligibility criteria for the Small Business Assistance Scheme for COVID-19, which opens the scheme up to businesses in non-rated premises.
The Economic Recovery Plan also sets out the intention to introduce a new, additional and more streamlined business support scheme in September 2021, called the Business Resumption Support Scheme.
